Cursed Dragon

"Not even these stray wyrms are free from the pestilence of this accursed place. I've seen that putrid breath drive Pawns mad and reduce Arisen to foul puddles, armor and all...never thought I'd miss the flame." —Barroch's Notes

Description

Cursed Dragons are enemies in Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen.

Encountered on Bitterblack Isle, these undead dragons from origins unknown bear a striking visual similarity to a near death Ur-Dragon, however Cursed Dragons are smaller and less powerful. Instead of a heart, they have a single purple crystal in their chest, which the Cursed Dragon accompanying the Dark Bishop also lacks.

They breathe a vile and foul gas, which can inflict multiple debilitations and rots any time sensitive items in the party's inventory.

Like the Ur-Dragon, the Cursed Dragon can be slain by a pawn if they strike the final blow to its crystal.

Overview

Type	Undead / Dragon / Necrophage
Experience gained	Base Experience of 66,000 Can be more or less depending on a few factors such as: Having fewer pawns Being under the effect of Weal Use of the Bezel Crown bow Being in Hard Mode Having higher or lower level pawns
Location	Bitterblack Isle The Pilgrim's Gauntlet, first floor after retrieving the Void Key Midnight Helix, randomly or can be lured with Rancid Bait Meat Duskmoon Tower, lured with Rancid Bait Meat Tower of Treasons Repaid Forsaken Cathedral, a weakened version summoned with the Dark Bishop Sparyard of Scant Mercy, pre-Daimon after defeating the Living Armor, or post-Daimon after defeating some dragons The Fallen City, can cast spells The Black Abbey, two can be baited with Fiend-luring Incense, with a flock of six Sirens
Items	Netherstone Greatwyrm Stone Rift Crystals If the Dragons was not lured with Rancid Bait Meat it may also give Cursed items : Bitterblack Armor Lv.1 or Lv.2 Bitterblack Weapon Lv.1 or Lv.2 Bitterblack Gear Lv.1, Lv.2 or Lv.3 Bitterblack Novelty Lv.1, Lv.2 or Lv.3 Bitterblack Weapon Lv.3 or Bitterblack Armor Lv.3 (both very rarely) On destroying an horn Cursed Dragon Horn, Cursed Dragon Scale On destroying an wing Great Dragon Alula, Cursed Dragon Scale, Netherstone May also cause Dragonforging of equipment
Quests	Accursed Errand - acquire 3 Cursed Dragon Horns

Stats

Stats	Health	Attack	Defense	Magick Attack	Magick Defense	Weight
Stats	250,000 *	5,600	850	2,700	690	??

Relative Damage Taken	Slash	Bash	Fire	Ice	Thunder	Holy	Dark
Relative Damage Taken	100%	100%	150%	70%	70%	150%	10%

Sources: Dragon's Dogma - ドラゴンズドグマ＆ Dark Arisen (www10.atwiki.jp) and in-game testing.

* The Dark Bishop's summoned Cursed Dragon has only 12,500 Health.

Attacks

Attack	Type	Description
Poison Breath	Mag/Spec	A massive stream of poison is let loose from its mouth. Can cause Poison, and Curse. The Cursed Dragon can use this move while moving forward or backing away from its target, and may also attack whilst hovering. The poison breath has a chance to rot any perishable items.
Cursed Breath Assault	Mag/Spec	If under 50% health and grounded, the dragon will rear up and inhale, slowly turn to face the Arisen, and prepare a massive poison bomb attack. It will then roar, knocking back pawns and the Arisen who are not under cover including climbers. The dragon then spits a poison bomb, which explodes after a few seconds into several small poison bombs which can inflict Curse, Poison or Torpor in addition to heavy damage. This attack may also rot perishable items.
Dive	Phys	Hovers, then performs a gliding lunge from the air.
Charge	Phys	Charges at a target on the ground.
Grab (Arisen)	Phys	The Arisen is grabbed and then slammed into the ground.
Grab (Pawn)	Spec/Status	A Pawn is grabbed and then slammed into the ground. The Cursed Dragon will rarely try to seize control over the pawn, causing Possession.
Stomp Attack	Phys	A powerful attack with its feet, staggers targets.
Sweeping Backhand	Phys	A backhanded slap with either one of its front claws.
Tail Sweep	Phys	A powerful spinning attack with its tail, knocks targets off their feet.
Tail Lash	Phys	If the Arisen or pawns linger near or under the tail, it may whip back and forth for high damage with knockback.
Dragon Roar	Spec/Status	A mighty roar that may inflict Possession on all pawns within range.
Biting Assault	Phys	An onslaught of three powerful bites meant to catch fleeing enemies.
High Lassitude	Mag/Status	One or more area-of-effect sigils are created, inflicting Torpor on those who remain within it.

Dragonforging

Slaying Cursed Dragons offers a high chance to Dragonforge equipment, greater than any of the lesser Dragons.

Initial state	Dragonforging chance
stars enhancement	40%
stars enhancement	55%
stars enhancement	65%
stars enhancement	75%

Tactics

Offensive

The heart crystal on the chest is its weak spot, though blows and arrows to the head can stagger it.
- There is relative safety to be found by clinging to its heart.
Weak to Fire and Holy. Highly susceptible to Burning.
- Ice based attacks may partially inflict Frozen but the dragon cannot be shattered.
Vulnerable to Torpor and can be Silenced. Additionally, Cursed Dragons are resilient to, but may be inflicted with Lowered Defense, Lowered Magick and Lowered Strength.
Immune to Drenched, Tarring, Blindness, Poison, Curse, Petrification, and Sleep.
Although the dragon is undead, it is unaffected by spells such as High Anodyne, which would usually damage such creatures. Magick Rebalancer similarly is unable to debilitate the cursed dragon with Lowered Magick Defense.
Whilst hovering, melee strikes to the tail have a high chance to cause knockdown. However magick and bow attacks are better concentrated on the heart, head, or legs.
The Mystic Knight shield Zombiebane is very effective against Cursed Dragons, being the equal of the strongest magick shields when facing this foe.
Standing at the Dragons flanks is a reliable way of getting it to perform its backhand.
- Certain vocations may wish to consider that Perfect Blocking this attack will hit its heart, as will skills with invincibility frames such as Full Moon Slash.
- Mystic Knights may wish to exploit this with Mystic Knight Shield Counters.

Defensive

The Cursed Dragon's physical bite attacks have a small dark magick component.
A Cursed Dragon's attack patterns can be more easily learnt in "slow motion" by observing a torpored dragon.
The most dangerous place to stand is directly in front of the Dragon, as its Bite is its single most powerful attack. The Cursed Dragon has a long, craning neck and a far reaching forward lunge, so avoid frontal assaults.
- Running towards, and not away from the Dragon's underbelly when it begins its biting lunges may be a more effective way to avoid being chomped.
Being underneath the Cursed Dragon is comparatively safe.
- Be aware, however, that the Dragon can hit a character standing under its heart with its backhand.

With its health past the halfway point, the dragon will start using its massive breath attacks. There appears to be no technique capable of interrupting it, save for the death of the Dragon. This attack will knock down any party member who is not behind cover or climbing the Dragon.
Determine "safe" areas of the battlefield to escape from the massive breath attack by taking cover. For example, in the Duskmoon Tower the Arisen can run behind the large tree, behind rock formations, around corners, or into any opened treasure chest chambers.
- For a ranged-capable Arisen, there is a column to the left of the entrance to the Vault of Defiled Truth. If one gets behind it and stands all the way back against the north wall, the dragon cannot reach the Arisen or pawns for most of its attacks. Both of its breath attacks will also rarely affect the Arisen or pawns in this position. It will spend most of the fight trying unsuccessfully to bite the Arisen, who can bombard it with ranged attacks or spells.
The Cursed Dragon's breath can inflict multiple debilitations simultaneously, including Cursed, Poison, and Torpor.
- Climbing onto the Cursed Dragon's chest can sometime be a safe position from the massive breath attack. However attempting to shelter here is not 100% reliable.
- The initial blast has a radius of around 15 meters.
- Follow up poison bomblets may land anywhere, and sometimes direct cover may not protect from them.
Dark resistance mitigates the Dragon's Cursed Breath attacks.

If the Arisen takes up a position above ground level, like the upper walkways or ramps in Midnight Helix, the Dragon will spend most of its time in the air, with limited offensive options except poison breath. Because the crystal heart is exposed while in flight, it is easy to repeatedly down the dragon with ranged attacks.

The Cursed Dragon in The Fallen City can cast High Lassitude to slow the party down, either prepare in advance with resistant outfits, or suitable potions, or inflict Silence to prevent the spell being cast.

Mage pawns can hold the Cursed Dragon in place with High Grapnel, temporarily nullifying the physical attacks upon which it relies.

Pawn specific

Unlike other Dragons, excluding the Ur-Dragon, pawns can land the final blow on a Cursed Dragon.

Unlike other Dragons, the Dragon Roar can inflict Possession, forcing pawns to attack the Arisen. Prepare suitably.
- Pawns with low Possession resistance who climb the Cursed Dragon's back can also become Possessed, but they typically remain helpless on the Cursed Dragon's back until either restored to sanity, forfeited, or the fight ends.
- Take care with high level pawns who could can potentially annihilate the entire party if they become possessed.

Pawn Bestiary Knowledge

For full information, refer to the Bestiary page or the according section on the Drake page.

Enemy Specific:

Weak to Holy
Weak to Fire
Let the poison breath attack hit you making time-sensitive items rot instantly. This may have to happen several times. Pawn's comment, "Augh...our meat and vegetables rot" or "His putrid breath spoils our belongings" is not an indication that they learned this already.
Let the Dark Bishop revive his pet Cursed Dragon after it dies. May need to be witnessed a few times.
Let the Dark Bishop possess its pet Cursed Dragon. May also need to be witnessed a few times.
Avoid head-on rushes.
Perfect Block a lunge/bite attack.
Witness the Cursed Dragon in The Fallen City cast spells.

In addition to witnessing these techniques, it is necessary for pawns to participate in killing over 15 Cursed Dragons with their own Arisen or while traveling with others.

It is thought that the Cursed Dragon accompanying the Dark Bishop and the Cursed Dragon in the Fallen City each generate unique knowledge flags that the standard Cursed Dragon spawning as a necrophagous beast does not.

Pawn Chatter

"That dragon's near rotted through!" (no bestiary knowledge)

"The walking corpse of a wyrm...?!"

"There, a cursed dragon!"

"This must be the work of the darkest magick."

"Stay clear of its putrefying breath!"

"The wings, Master! Strike it from the sky!"

"There! The point of light upon its chest!"

" 'Tis like the crystal in its breast animates it!"

"Augh?! Our meat and vegetables rot!"

Notes

Cursed Dragon at the top of the steps in the Midnight Helix. The illumination comes from a couple of Magick Archer's explosive rivets lodged in its heart.

The Cursed Dragon does not use wing flap attacks like other Dragons. As a consequence Stability is only of use against the Cursed Dragon's aerial fly by.
The Cursed Dragon's breath may rot meat and vegetables, but its breath can be oddly beneficial as well. An Egg or Ambrosial Meat can be turned immediately into a Golden Egg or Sour Ambrosial Meat when exposed to Cursed Dragon's breath. Store such items in an Airtight Flask to preserve, as further breath attacks will rot the egg or meat.

Randomly appearing necrophagous Cursed Dragon can spawn in mid-air and fall, which may be sufficient to kill a low level or badly equipped character by crushing them.

If the Cursed Dragon is encountered together with another dangerous enemy, such as in Midnight Helix or Tower of Treasons Repaid, they may fight each other - although the other foe won, they sometimes fail or are unable to hit the chest crystal needed to finish off the Dragon, which then requires the Arisen to step in. Experience is not awarded for creatures killed by the Cursed Dragon, though loot can still be gathered.

If the Cursed Dragon is engaged in the Duskmoon Tower prior to Barroch being removed from the area (possible by using a Rancid Bait Meat), Barroch might catch the aggro of the Cursed Dragon randomly. It's recommended to bring a Fighter with Shield Drum or a Warrior with War Cry, or equip any weapon or skill that can be used to knock it down the sky.
- Barroch is invulnerable and even if he is constantly hit or poisoned by the Cursed Dragon, he cannot die.

The Cursed Dragon is more supple than might be supposed. It is able to enter areas that appear impossibly small. For example, it can climb all the way to the top of the stairs in the Midnight Helix leading to the Ward of Regret. It will immediately slide down unless it is staggered by a critical blow that causes it to writhe. In that case, it will remain at the top of the stairs.

(Exploit) It is possible to "farm" Cursed Dragons, for details see Farming Exploits § Cursed Dragons.
As opposed to other Dragons, destruction of the Cursed Dragon's horns or wings will lack the distinctive impact effect. In addition the Cursed Dragon's model won't update like other dragons, but its hitbox will.